And there I was — once again walking along reasonably well (my hips were protesting less and less the closer I got to Le Puy; the first of The Walk’s three primary “goals”) under beautiful sunny skies. And yet still I found my ego instinctively wondering where I was going to sleep that coming night, […]
“History with its flickering lamp stumbles along the trail of the past, trying to reconstruct its scenes, to revive its echoes, and kindle with pale gleams the passion of former days. And yet what is the worth of all this? The only true guide to a man is his conscience, and the only true buckler […]
I walked steadily onward, into and through the lovely village of St. Jeures, and eventually arrived in the town of Aroules. I had heard from pilgrims previously met that a kind couple ran a donativo hostel here, and — with the help of a few friendly locals — I eventually found the same. The co-proprietor, […]
“There is more than enough evidence that we are all innately privy to the greatest secret of the Universe, which, in case you’re wondering, is simply this: Everything is intimately connected — EVERYTHING. Many, if not most, of said links are difficult to designate or determine, it’s true. And yet we have all been equipped […]
Even though my hips were actually doing quite well on this day, I still chose to be extremely grateful for the alternative route that immediately presented itself when I came upon the hindrance pictured below … 😉 “Avoid loafing about and timidly whispering to your destiny. Light out after it fully instead, with the loudest […]
Selfless service is not only lending a helping hand to a fellow human in need or boldly freeing an animal being enslaved &/or commodified. Sometimes selfless service means walking in peaceful solitude, and then pausing to cleanse and thereby beautify the landscape … 😉 “Sometimes it’s a form of Love to listen intently to somebody […]
And then it happened: I finally walked far enough to allow Le Puy en Velay, the first of my pilgrimage’s three primary European waystations, to come into at least a known-yet-hazy presence upon my clearly seen horizon … 🙂 “Sometimes, when one is moving purposefully through an utterly expansive landscape, an overwhelming hallucination comes over […]
Even though The Way was ever more clearly marked the closer I got to Santiago, there ever remained the random intersection or two where the path was quite difficult to find. Fortunately, I could almost always rely on my general ability to locate “southwest”, and just as fortunately, a bit of patient searching more often […]
On & on I walk, and am steadily heading towards the village of Queyrieres in the distance when the path suddenly veered away from that potential place of respite ( :O ) … I then passed the very last house on the very outskirts of town and decide to stop in and ask for my […]
Similarly to life during its harder times, the rougher patches of any pilgrimage can often be more smoothly traversed by simply being willing to leave the main road and walk paths less-traveled … 😉 “The only life worth living is the adventurous one. And of such a life the dominant characteristic is by its blatancy […]
“A truly Great Vision is needed, and the man who has chosen it must choose follow it devoutly — as devoutly as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky; as devoutly as the river seeks the sea.” ~ inspired by Chief Crazy Horse
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